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United Kingdom: Industrial production rises for the third straight month in April

June 11, 2013

In April, industrial production expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.1% over the previous month. The figure follows a 0.7% rise in March and overshot market expectations of zero growth. In addition, the reading marks the third consecutive month of rising industrial output.

The deceleration over the previous month was the result of a contraction in manufacturing output, which swung from a 1.1% expansion in March to a 0.2% decline in April, a result that, nonetheless, was in line with market expectations. Moreover, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning output also fell over the previous month in April.

In annual terms, industrial production fell 0.6%, which marked an improvement over the 1.4% contraction recorded in March. As a result, the trend is now pointing upwards, with annual average growth in industrial production inching up from minus 2.3% in March to minus 2.2% in April.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panellists project industrial production to contract 0.8% in 2013, which is unchanged over the previous month's forecast. For 2014, the panel anticipates growth in industrial production to rebound and expand 1.2%.

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